Nonstop flight route between Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kiwayu, Kenya:
Departure Airport:
Arrival Airport:
Distance from GRF to KWY:
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- About this route
- GRF Airport Information
- KWY Airport Information
- Facts about GRF
- Facts about KWY
- Map of Nearest Airports to GRF
- List of Nearest Airports to GRF
- Map of Furthest Airports from GRF
- List of Furthest Airports from GRF
- Map of Nearest Airports to KWY
- List of Nearest Airports to KWY
- Map of Furthest Airports from KWY
- List of Furthest Airports from KWY
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Gray Army Airfield (GRF), Tacoma, Washington, United States and Kiwayu Airport (KWY), Kiwayu, Kenya would travel a Great Circle distance of 9,173 miles (or 14,762 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Gray Army Airfield and Kiwayu Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Gray Army Airfield and Kiwayu Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | GRF / KGRF |
| Airport Names: |
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| Location: | Tacoma, Washington, United States |
| GPS Coordinates: | 47°4'45"N by 122°34'50"W |
| Operator/Owner: | U.S. Army ATCA-ASO |
| Airport Type: | Military |
| Elevation: | 300 feet (91 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from GRF |
| More Information: | GRF Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
| IATA / ICAO Codes: | KWY / |
| Airport Name: | Kiwayu Airport |
| Location: | Kiwayu, Kenya |
| GPS Coordinates: | 1°57'38"S by 41°17'50"E |
| Area Served: | Kiwayu, Lamu District, Coast Province, Kenya |
| Operator/Owner: | Kenya Airports Authority |
| Airport Type: | Public, Civilian |
| Elevation: | 23 feet (7 meters) |
| # of Runways: | 1 |
| View all routes: | Routes from KWY |
| More Information: | KWY Maps & Info |
Facts about Gray Army Airfield (GRF):
- Reactivated following service in Vietnam, the 9th Infantry Division aviation units occupied GAAF in 1972.
- Gray Army Airfield (GRF) currently has only 1 runway.
- The Army Air Force closed its facilities in 1947.
- The furthest airport from Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 10,809 miles (17,395 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
- The closest airport to Gray Army Airfield (GRF) is McChord Field/McChord AFB (TCM), which is located only 6 miles (10 kilometers) NE of GRF.
- Since 2005 the field has been experiencing another major expansion.
- In October 1921 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplanes flew from the Naval Station at Sand Point to a grass airfield at what was then called "Camp Lewis", located at a site just west of today’s Gray AAF.
- Because of Gray Army Airfield's relatively low elevation of 300 feet, planes can take off or land at Gray Army Airfield at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- In addition to being known as "Gray Army Airfield", another name for GRF is "(Joint Base Lewis-McChord)".
- Camp Lewis advocates pushed for it to be a major dirigible and fixed-wing field.
Facts about Kiwayu Airport (KWY):
- Because of Kiwayu Airport's relatively low elevation of 23 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiwayu Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The closest airport to Kiwayu Airport (KWY) is Manda Airport (LAU), which is located 33 miles (53 kilometers) SW of KWY.
- The furthest airport from Kiwayu Airport (KWY) is Atuona Airport (AUQ), which is located 11,626 miles (18,710 kilometers) away in Atuona, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.
- Kiwayu Airport (KWY) currently has only 1 runway.
